This invention, in general, relates to decorated candle products, and more particularly relates to candle products decorated by the application of a decorative heat-shrinkable film either to the candles or to candle holders in which the candles are situated.
Candles and candle products come in many shapes, sizes, and designs. Some candles are intended to stand alone, while others are intended to be held upright in the form of candlesticks or the like. Other candles are intended to be situated in candle holders. In the case of so-called gel candles and some wax candles, the candles can substantially fill the volume of holders in which the candles are situated.
In any of these cases, it is desirable to decorate the candle products to improve their aestheticsxe2x80x94for both when a candle is displayed and when it bums. However, it can be difficult and costly to decorate the exterior surface of a candle or its holder. Also, many known techniques do not provide flexibility in production to easily change the particular decorative design. This limits the ability to provide cost-effectively a variety of designs or to tailor the designs to a specific season, event, motif, holiday or the like.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a cost-effective candle decorating method which permits greater flexibility in production to allow a change from among varied decorative designs, and provides a decorative candle product.
It has long been known to encase candles in protective material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,137,707 (Wade, et al.) relates to a process for packaging tapered candles in a seamless casing formed of a non-fibrous, cellulosic material. The casing may be transparent, translucent and/or colored. In one embodiment, the non-fibrous, cellulosic material is formed into a tube. The tube is wetted to soften the material for application to the candle. The wet tube diameter is substantially equal to the mean diameter of the tapered candle. The wet tube is pushed down onto the candle, stretching as necessary to fit over the wider end of the candle. Then, the covered candle is dried, and the tube forms a protective casing that conforms closely to the shape of the candle.
It has also been known to wrap candles in heat-shrinkable films for shipping and display. U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,682 (Krance) relates to a method of wrapping candles. A tube of heat-shrinkable film material is loosely formed about the candle by shaping a web of the material about the candle with overlapping longitudinal edges. By grasping the tube just beyond each end of the candle, the wrapped candle is carried past a heat source, by which the material is heat shrunk around the candle. The material selected has two important characteristics: it will not shrink any further once it contacts the surface of the candle, and it holds a high charge of static electricity which causes it to cling when overlapped. Thus, the material is not heat sealed, but rather is held together statically around the candle.
It has also been known to apply heat-shrinkable wraps on various objects for decorative purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,348 (Spiegel et al.) relates to decorative three-dimensional objects such as ornaments or glassware. The object is decorated by heat-shrinking a decorated tube or band of heat-shrinkable plastic about the object. The tube is decorated by applying precut patterns, silk screening, striping or the like. The plastic is preferably polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyethylene, which is uniaxially oriented, resulting in a 30-50% diametric shrinkage versus only a 2-10% height shrinkage of the tube.
However, it has not previously been proposed to decorate a candle product such as a candle or a candle holder with a heat-shrinkable film that is decorated in a manner to cooperate with the light emitted by the candle to provide a pleasing, altered or otherwise augmented visual effect. Further, it has not been suggested to decorate a candle or holder, which will be subject to elevated temperatures during normal use, by application of a heat-shrinkable film. The known art does not suggest such an application, nor does it suggest with any certainty that heat-shrinkable polymers could be used to decorate such a combustible product.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a candle decorating method and decorative candle product, which utilize heat-shrinkable films to provide a design that cooperates with the light emitted by the candle to achieve such a visual effect.
The present invention addresses the foregoing needs in the art by providing a product and method in which a candle is decorated by enveloping the candle (or holder) in a decorative, heat-shrinkable polymer wrap and heat-shrinking the wrap about the candle (or holder).
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method of decorating a candle product, and includes the steps of providing a web of a heat-shrinkable polymer having a decorative feature and encasing with the web one of a candle and a candle holder. After the encasing step, the web is heated to shrink the web to conform to a shape of the one of the candle and the candle holder. In a case in which the one of the candle and the candle holder is the candle holder, a candle can be inserted into the candle holder.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a decorated candle product including one of a candle and a candle holder containing the candle. A decorative web of a heat-shrinkable polymer web is heat shrunk to conform to a shape of the one of the candle and the candle holder. The web has a decorative feature located to cooperate with light emitted by the candle to augment the visual effect created when the candle is lit.
These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages will be more evident from the following description and drawings, in which like reference numerals relate to like elements throughout.